Surgery has become progressively less invasive due to advances in medical technology. Laparoscopy is the dominant minimally invasive surgical (“MIS”) approach used today and has replaced many traditional “open” approaches. In laparoscopic surgery, tubular members or “trocars” (typically three to five (3-5)) are placed at separate points in the surgical field, e.g., from the patient's skin through intervening tissue to a body cavity or other surgical space (such as the abdomen) within a patient's body. These trocars serve as ports providing access into the surgical space through which specially configured, e.g. long and thin, instruments may be inserted. Manipulation of these instruments from outside the body mechanically translates into motion of tool tips within the body cavity. Depending on the tool tip, different instruments may be used for different functions, such as grasping, blunt dissection, cutting, electrosurgical dissection, clipping, ligating, suturing, or a combination of these. The appropriate instruments may be selected by the surgeon based on what the surgeon needs for individual steps of a particular procedure.
Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) offers several advantages compared to open surgical procedures including minimal trauma to the abdominal wall and hence less postoperative pain to the patient, fewer wound complications, earlier patient mobilization, and/or shorter lengths of stay. Laparoscopic access to the peritoneal or pre-peritoneal space is the dominant MIS approach when performing minimally invasive abdominal operations, e.g., cholecystectomy, appendectomy, bowel resection, hernia repair, and the like. Similarly, thoracoscopy may be employed for procedures in the chest cavity. Robotic techniques may incorporate aspects of MIS with the addition of a robotic console and effectors. These operations are technically challenging and require intense concentration on the part of the surgeon and support team.
Laparoscopic and other MIS procedures are typically performed in darkened conditions to facilitate viewing of the operative field, e.g., on a television monitor or other display. For example, the surgeon may place a laparoscope or other instrument through a trocar or port to view the surgical field including the tool tips and tissue structures therein, and the images may be presented on the display. A nurse or technician may pass instruments to the surgeon, as requested, during the course of the procedure. Typically, the surgeon uses two instruments at a time (e.g., one for each hand) and changes the instruments numerous times as the operation proceeds.
Most laparoscopic instruments have a nominal outer diameter or cross-section (including the shaft and tool tip) of less than about five millimeters (5 mm), with some specialized instruments having different diameters, e.g., less than about three millimeters (3 mm), ten millimeters (10 mm), twelve millimeters (12 mm), and the like. However, the types of tool tips on instruments generally used in laparoscopic procedures may be difficult to distinguish from one another even under conditions of good lighting, and thus pose a risk of employing an inappropriate instrument during such procedures.
Instruments from a given manufacturer or product line tend to be substantially identical within the product line. For example, all of the instruments in a set of instruments may have similar diameters and/or shapes, e.g., having the same color and shape of shaft, body, knob, handgrip, locking mechanism, and/or other features, as the other instruments in the set even though they may have different tips and/or functions. Typically, lettering or labeling visible on the instrument, if any, may refer to the name of the manufacturer and not to the function of the instrument. Instruments of a given product line and diameter may generally differ only in the tool tip.
Thus, for example, an instrument with a scissor tip may readily be confused with an instrument with a curved dissector tip during a procedure, with potentially harmful consequences for the patient and/or the medical personnel.